


Love Me Tender

by inwayovermybughead



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 50’s AU, F/M, bughead - Freeform, greaser!jug, soc!betty, summer buggie break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 22:39:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15253611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inwayovermybughead/pseuds/inwayovermybughead
Summary: Strawberries and cigarettes shouldn’t mix, but under the warm fluorescent lights of Pop’s diner, they do.





	Love Me Tender

**Author's Note:**

> This is a 50’s AU for Day 12 of Summer Buggie Break! It’s based on the gangs from The Outsiders, but basically it’s just a bad boy meets good girl AU. I really hope you enjoy this short little fic, it’s probably one of my favorites I’ve written (even though it’s totally cliche). Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors. All comments are greatly appreciated.

The boy from the wrong side of the tracks. She always saw him. Wherever she went, he was there too. The town was divided, the Socs, and the Greasers claimed their territory. But in the middle of town, there was No Man’s Land. That’s where she hung out, avoiding all reminders of social status. 

Her favorite diner in town, Pop’s, was in No Man’s Land. She would stay there for hours and hours, reading, drinking milkshakes, throwing dimes in the jukebox. She enjoyed the solitude, not one for popularity. She didn’t have many friends other than Veronica and Archie. Veronica was new in town, and had taken a liking to her. And her being Betty Cooper, couldn’t say no. Although Veronica was new in town, she was a Soc, through and through. It was in her blood or something. Her parents were rich beyond belief, so the gang had taken a liking to her quick. Betty had known Archie since all her life, and at the ripe young age of sixteen, he had appointed himself leader of the Soc’s, the gang they were practically born into. Suddenly, she found herself on the arm of Archie Andrews, nodding along whenever she mentioned that she was his girl. She didn’t know how she got there. She didn’t ever remember agreeing to a romantic relationship between the two of them. It had just… happened.

The boy was always at Pop’s. From the time she walked in, ‘til the time she left with the ring of the door, he sat at the booth in the corner. He was rugged, his hair slicked back with the infamous grease, and a leather jacket covered with slash marks. He fiddled with a cancer stick between his fingers, a lighter nowhere in sight. He didn’t seem to have many friends either. He sat alone and read books, while munching on burgers and shakes, the same as her.

She liked watching him, and he didn’t seem to notice. She imagined what it would be like to talk to him. He would be kind and a gentleman. He would kiss her hand and offer her his leather jacket. His voice would be low and gravelly, and his palms rough against her smooth skin. The few times Veronica joined her, she would roll her eyes at Betty’s forbidden crush. 

Veronica scoffed, “Betty, stop drooling at that scum, if you get any closer to him you’re gonna get grease all over your skirt.” 

Betty snapped out of her daze. She couldn’t help it. All the guys at school were spoiled and crass. The man she had built him up to be was so much better than any of the boys she knew.

She rubbed her palms against the fabric of her poodle skirt and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She got up, feeling Veronica’s hand drop off her shoulder, and strode over to the jukebox. She threw in a dime and the sounds of a slow Elvis song began to crackle out of he machine. She swayed to the rhythm and made her way to the booth in the corner.

“Hi,” she said shyly, capturing his attention, “I’m Betty Cooper.”

“I— I know,” he stammered. 

He looked at her in confusion. Girls like her didn’t talk to guys like him. He knew who she was. She was Betty Cooper, the beautiful blonde from the Northside, always on the arm of Archie Andrews.

“So, can I have this dance?” She asked.

His mouth parted slightly, unsure what to say. He saw her everyday, he fell in love with her from afar. How could he say no? His friends made fun of him for liking a girl from the North. He rejected all the rough and tough Greaser girls that threw themselves at him, being the son of the leader and all. But he knew Archie Andrews wouldn’t be happy if he saw his girl on a Greaser’s arm. Andrews was notorious for roughing up any Greaser he saw on the Northside, reason or not.  
Her pink lips pursed together as she rocked back and forth on her heels, getting less confident as the time passed. She turned around slowly, gathering the broken pieces of herself. 

“Ok!” He shouted suddenly.

She turned back around and looked at him with a cocked brow, “What?”

“I said, I would love to dance with you.” 

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out to the middle of the empty diner. She giggled and bit her lip. They swayed along to the music as night fell and the streets emptied. She rested her head on his shoulder. At first, he froze, knowing Archie could walk by the diner at any time and see them through the wide windows. But her warmth surrounded him, and he relaxed. She smelled like fresh strawberries and summer, and he smelled like cancer sticks and grease. He knew they must have been an odd picture. A beautiful blonde Soc, with a poufy poodle skirt, frilly socks, polished shoes, and pink lips, in the arms of a street rat, with a worn leather jacket and greasy hair, both swaying to a song in the middle of No Man’s Land.   
The diner grew darker, the daylight no longer filtering through the windows. The only thing lighting up the restaurant were the bright fluorescent lights. She pulled away first, drawing a sigh from his chest.

“Let’s do this again sometime,” she said breathily with a sad smile and watery eyes, knowing they couldn’t be seen together again.

He walked her to the door, where she turned around and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. 

“See you around Romeo.”

He stood there, unmoving as she left. He pressed a hand to where she touched him last, feeling the warmth of her still.

He whispered into the open night air.

“Goodbye Juliet.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear what you thought about it! 
> 
> This fic and a matching aesthetic are posted on my tumblr @inwayovermybughead!


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